A general collection of discourses of the virtuosi of France, upon questions of all sorts of philosophy, and other natural knowledg made in the assembly of the Beaux Esprits at Paris, by the most ingenious persons of that nation / render'd into English by G. Havers, Gent.

II. Why Men love Musick.

Upon the Second Point the First said, That if Musick be not natural to the Heavens, considering the regularity of their Motions, which the custome of alwayes hearing hinders us from perceiving; yet it is so to Man, since he takes such Pleasure therein, that Nurses quiet the frowardness of their Children in the Cradle by their Songs; the Devotion of grown persons is in∣creased by singing of Psalmes; the Pipe and the Drum animate the Souldier to War, and even Horses become more courageous by the sound of the Trumpet; Not to mention David's Harp, which drave away the evil Spirit from Saul, nor the cure which Hoboys effect in those that are stung with the Tarantula, causing them to dance till they sweat, by which means they are cur'd of what otherwise would be mortal. All which seemes more to be admir'd then explicated.

The Second said, That the Solution of the present Question depends upon this other; namely, why certain Objects excite Pleasure, and others Grief? The truth is, Nature hath joyn'd Grief with Hurtful Objects, and Pleasure with profitable. For otherwise having plac'd Living Creatures amidst Life and Death, it might have hapned that through want of knowledge, or else through intemperance, some Creature might neglect the things which are profitable to it, or made use of such as are hurt∣full. It is not to be fear'd that an Ox will eat Worm-wood, or that an Animal will not pluck its leg out of the fire: For Pain admonisheth both the one and the other to abstain from those Objects, as on the other side Pleasure attracts us to those which preserve our Nature. This Pleasure is not onely in the Object as it is suitable to our Nature, but also in the Action it self. As it is a very sweet thing to live, so it is a great pleasure to exercise the Actions of life, more or less, according as the same are noble or necessary. Whence it is that Nature hath placed more Pleasure in the Action which tends to preserving the species of Men, then in that which preserves every individual in particular, and yet more in this latter, then in that of Seeing, Tasting, and the rest; because that which regards the preservation of the individual, namely, Eating and Drinking, is considerable in reference to Life and Being which it preserves; but the rest are onely for well-being. But in the Sense of Hearing there is not observ'd

any Pleasure or Pain arriving by reason of the Object; because in Hearing, as well as in Seeing, the Objects act onely intention∣ally not really and corruptibly. Now Pain and Pleasure are not excited on the part of the Objects, but by real Actions, which cause alteration in their subject. But the Hearing is capable thereof, because it is a Natural Action, and every Natural Action is perform'd with Pleasure. Whence then cometh the Pain which our Ear receiveth with the sound? It must be ob∣serv'd that the Sense of Touching is diffus'd through all the Body, and every sensible part admits Pain, which is an Accident of Touching. Upon which account the Ear is endew'd with Two Senses; it receives not onely sounds, but the Tactile qua∣lities. Sounds of themselves excite neither Pain nor Pleasure; but if together with sound the Air enters into the Organ, and strike it too vehemently, or stretches the Membrane more then its Nature is able to bear, Pain is excited in the Ear, not as it is the Instrument of Hearing, but as it is endew'd with the Sense of Touching. Moreover, Pain may be excited in the Sense of Hearing, another way. For the understanding whereof, it is to be noted, that it is not sufficient that the word of him that speaks be formed and articulated in his Mouth by the help of the Teeth and the Tongue; but the Ear must form it anew that you may hear it. For which end it is contriv'd in form of a Snail-shell, at the bottome whereof is plac'd a Drum, an Anvil, and a Ham∣mer, for the formation of sounds anew. Now as we see the Organs which form words one after another, are troubled and discompos'd when they are to form certain sounds which have any Cacophonia or uncouth sound amongst them; as when I say, il alla à Alenson, I feel a certain unaptness in my Organs of speech; and the reason of this unaptness is, because the sequel or coherence of those sounds together, doth not well sute with the manner of the Organs operation; in regard it is natural to shut the Mouth after wide opening it; as we do in the pronun∣tiation of A. Now if another A must be pronounc'd immedi∣ately after, there is need of more force, which is troublesome, or else time must be allow'd between both, to shut the Mouth without speaking a word; which is also tedious to the Organ of speech, which hastens as much as he can to pronounce the words intended. So when the Ear comes to form the sounds anew, (as I said it doth) if two or more happen together, which require to be formed at once, as they do which have the same tone, or which gives not the Organ leisure to rest from one end to the other, it resents the same unaptness and inconvenience. Hence certain Concords in Musick please the Ear, and others displease it. This is seen ordinarily, that it is displeasing to the Ear to form many sounds at a time, as when two persons speak together; or if it happen that the two sounds presented together to be form∣ed are wholly opposite one to the other, as one grave, and the other sharp; the Organ cannot form them both at once, because

they require two different wayes of operation, to which the Ear cannot attend at the same time. For it operates otherwise in forming a sharp sound then a grave, and they both strike the Organ and rend, it each after its own mode. Whereby it is con∣strain'd to form them; but as it is by force, so it is not without Pain. But when those two sounds, the grave and the sharp, are united in one proportion, so that the sharp serves as it were for salt to the other, and they are blended together; this conjunction makes them consider'd but as one sound, which the Ear finds very agreeable, because it formes the same not onely without difficulty, but also with Pleasure. Hence the good Concord of Musick delights our Ears so much.

The Third said, We have suffer'd under the Tyranny of the Peripateticks too long, whereas the other Philosophers afford us excellent reasons. Plato and Pythagoras will have all things to be Number, or at least a participation and similitude of Numbers. Aristotle agrees too, that Musick is Number. Now the perfect Number, according to Pythagoras, is that of Ten; seeing all other Numbers are but repetitions of the first Ten. Of these Numbers the first pair is Female and imperfect; and so is a second in Mu∣sick. Three is the first Male, and the first degree of perfection; hence a Third is agreeable to the Ear. The Fourth is so likewise, because it makes up the Ten. Add 1, 2, 3, and 4, and you have the grand Number of Ten, the Father of all others. Also a Fifth pleases the Ear wonderfully, because it is an Abridgement of the grand Number, and the marriage of the Male and the first Female. The other Numbers are useless, except the Eighth, because Musitians call it Identity, or Unity, which is a Divine Number, or rather no Number; nor is the Eighth as delightful as it is, accounted by Musitians amongst their Concords.

The Fourth said, That the Reason why some Notes are agree∣able, and other unpleasing, in Musick, is, because the former move the Faculty of the Soul after a manner sutable to it, and the latter do not; as we see an Example of it in Ballads and Dances, where when the Violin or Minstrel hath sounded a braul which goes well to the cadence, not onely the Members of the Dancers comply therewith and follow the same readily, but also the Souls seemes to dance with the Bodies; so great Sympathy have they with that Harmony. But if, on the con∣trary, the power of the Soul be otherwise agitated at the same time, that Harmony, how regular soever, will displease us. Witness the displeasure taken at cheerful aires by those who are in Mourning, to whom doleful notes better agree, which, on the other side, are disagreeable to such as are merrily dispos'd. Add hereunto the humour of the Phancy, which hath an aver∣sion to some sounds, as well as to some smells. For as for Dis∣cords, janglings, and other troublesome sounds, no other cause of their general inacceptableness ought to be sought, then that disproportion and deformity which is sound in things Natural

and Artificial, the former being more intollerable then the latter; because the Eye is not struck with the visible species, as the Ear is with sound, and can turn away from the Object which dis∣pleaseth it, which the Ear cannot, and is clos'd with much more difficulty.